I Want You To Be Happy
by Sylvain Pykka
Summary: She had to ask him, if he truly still did care for her. After everything they've been through, he couldn't still love her. The way he was acting towards her was just out of trying to be an help to her, to try to get her back on her feet.


**_Disclaimer- _** Everything Hunger Games related belongs to Suzanne Collin

Katniss sat on the chair in the kitchen, staring blankly at the cream colored wall. Greasy Sae sighed as she looked up from her work, "Katniss..." she said setting the knife down on the cutting board, "You'll have to do something than just sit around."

As if to help with her grandmother's suggestion, her young granddaughter came up to her with a bright blue ball of yarn, smiling as she pushed it at her. Katniss said nothing as she shifted her gaze down to her, saying nothing as she took the ball from her, giving her an thin smile that looked more like an grimace. Sae was about to say something else when they heard an short knock on the front door. Sae released another sighed when she saw her make no move toward the door, rolling up her sleeves as she then made her way to the door, her granddaughter trailing behind her. Katniss silently put the ball on the ground as she turned her attention back to the wall.

She heard the front door creak open, an warm greeting exchanged by Sae and him, and then the voices getting softer. She strained to listen to their conversation as she leaned toward the door frame, "Is she any better?"

"No... she's still the same from when I first saw her."

"Where is she?"

"In the kitchen, I was currently working in there when you knocked."

"Oh. Would you mind...?"

"Of course not! I was getting finished anyway, let me finish that last potato and I'll take Hanna and go home for the day."

"Thank you for understanding Sae."

"It's nothing Peeta, if anything can cheer her up, it'd be you or Gale."

The conversation ended, footsteps neared the kitchen, Katniss looked up to see Peeta standing with Sae, "Katniss, Peeta's here for you again," Sae said as she made her way to the counter, picking up the knife and unfinished potato, "I'll be leaving with Hanna as soon as I finish up here, so you two can be alone."

Katniss only nodded as she continued to stare at Peeta, he looked better than she'd last saw him, he had an healthy glow to his skin, most of his scars and bruises were gone, and the clouded look in his eyes disappeared, leaving a soft look as he stared back. He was now dressed in an thin jacket over his grey shirt, and long khaki pants. They continued to look at each other until Sae awkwardly interrupted as she said, "I'm leaving, Peeta, would you mind locking up? The keys are by the front door, on that thin table."

Peeta finally broke this gaze from me as he stated, "I don't mind, thanks Sae... for everything." Katniss looked up to see Sae had cleaned the kitchen, and was holding Hanna's hand.

Sae offered them a small smile before turning and ushering Hanna out. Both of them watched them leave, looking back to one another when Sae was well out of earshot. Peeta had an hard, but concerned look on his face as he turned back to her, "Katniss, what's wrong? It's okay to tell me if something's the matter."

Katniss looked down at her hands, noting her long nails, "Nothing." she spoke in an raspy voice. It'd been a while since she last talked.

"Katniss... please don't lie... I want you to be happy..." She looked back up into his pleading eyes, "I know what you've gone through, how did you think I felt when I learned my family died?"

She blinked, startled by the liquid that spilled onto her hands; she hadn't noticed that she had been holding back tears, "It's different, you wouldn't know."

"What do you mean I don't know that pain?" Peeta took her jaw and lifted it up to where they could see eye to eye, "I still have that pain in me Katniss!"

Suddenly, she bursted, "No, no you don't!" Peeta looked taken aback by her tone, she then gripped his wrist and flung it down, she could meet his eyes, "You don't know the pain I'm feeling! You'll never know! I was so close to her! I could've saved her! She's dead because of me!" She finally broke down and buried her face into her arms as she sobbed, "They're all dead because of me..."

If she wasn't sobbing as hard as she was, she would've heard the screeching the chair made when he got up, or his soft voice as he said to her, "Goodbye Katniss."

She kept sobbing even when she heard the door close and when it started turning dark outside. After a while when she stopped, she looked blearily at the same cream colored wall she had stared at earlier that day. As she stared, her arms that were wrapped around her tightened. It was her fault for not saving them, if only she had been faster, they would still be alive, but because of her choices, they were now in dirt. She shook her head as she finally got up, looking at the dying fire that once danced on the wood. Her eyes narrowed as she turned away, trying to see in the darkening room. Katniss knew that all the supplies she needed was in or by the house. She knew what she had to do.

She silently moved in the dark, not making an sound as she walked to get what she needed. She quickly unlocked and opened the back door, immediately finding what she was looking for. Katniss shivered as cold blasts of wind continually hit her as she bent down and received what she came to get. She gave another shudder as she threw herself back into the warm house, slamming the door so that known of the raging winds outside would come and invade this warmness. She looked down at the single object in both of her hands, saying nothing as she slowly made her way down to her room. An single tear escaped her as she looked up at the fan, slowly climbing on the bed and tying the rope to it. Katniss then stepped off to finally do the noose at the end of the rope on the small chair she dragged up.

She numbly thought back to the song her father teached her, "The Hanging Tree." The song kept replaying in her head as she then pulled her chin up, and over the noose. As she was about to kick the chair away, when she heard banging at the front door. She looked down at the paisley pattern on the chair, _What an odd pattern._ she thought to herself as then looked up and shifted her neck back to the right place again.

As she was going to move the chair, she heard and horrified voice, "Katniss!" She looked down to see an terrified Peeta staring up at her, "What are you doing!?" She had forgotten about the front door. Katniss didn't meet his eyes as he gently took the noose off her and guided her to her bed which she sat on, "Damn it Katniss!" he said angrily as he glared at her, "Why'd you do it? I knew you thought about it, but I never knew you would actually do it!" He was now in her face. "Why?"

Katniss's gaze fell back to the rope as she whispered, "You told me to be happy."[1]

She didn't take her eyes off when Peeta spoke again, still angry, but softer, "Katniss, you and I both know this wasn't what I meant when I said that..."

She said nothing as she pulled her knees close to her, "I-I could've seen her face again... all of their faces..." she said hoarsely.

"Katniss..." Peeta said quietly as he sat down beside her, "How do you think Cinna, Rue, or Prim would do if they saw you like this? They wouldn't want you to waste your life on thinking about them."

Katniss shifted her gaze to where it locked onto his blue eyes. They said nothing as they continued to stare at each other, until Katniss broke down onto his shoulders. Peeta remained quiet as he gently stroked her brown hair, "I can't handle the pain anymore Peeta!" she whispered when her sobbing finally died down, "It's all my fault, a-and that agony won't go away!"

Peeta said nothing as he continued to stroke her hair, then finally shifting, "Katniss... when those thoughts or memories come back to you, I want you to think about every good thing you've seen someone do."

"How is that going to help me?" she said, looking back at him.

"It helps by showing you there's still good in this world." he answered simply.

"How is there any good in this world?" she asked.

Peeta sighed, "Think of all the good things you've seen people do, think of Prim with her goat and Buttercup, of Rue singing with the mockingjays, or Cinna making you a new dress, Finnick and Annie's new child..." he trailed off. She had to ask him, if he truly still did care for her. After everything they've been through, he couldn't still love her. The way he was acting towards her was just out of trying to be an help to her, to try to get her back on her feet.

Katniss looked back up at him, asking quietly, "You love me. Real or not real?"

Peeta smiled as he answered, "Real.

[1]- That's a quote from a place I can't remember. If you know where this quote is from, please PM me so I can put it down.


End file.
